Broadband technologies jumpstart rural economies

— “President Donald Trump’s campaign on Sunday sought to downplay its support for government intervention in 5G wireless networks after getting blowback from Trump administration officials who favor an industry-led approach,” Margaret reports. The proposal, first reported by John and Margaret , would see the government design a system in which federal airwaves would be shared with a single company that would use them to build a nationwide 5G network that wireless carriers would pay to access. The apparent reversal on the plan, which has been embraced by Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale and adviser Newt Gingrich, comes amid pushback from tech industry representatives and FCC officials.

— Here it goes again: The Consumer Technology Association’s Michael Petricone said there’s “no need” for more “government control” to win the global race for 5G deployment. Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the plan, which she characterized as “nationalizing” 5G networks, “really misses the mark.” And Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said changing course on the U.S.’s “successful, free market approach through China-like nationalization is a non-starter.” (The White House faced similar pushback in 2018 after a leaked memo revealed the administration was considering a plan to nationalize 5G networks to compete with China.)